Dhoni reclaims top spot in ICC rankings

India captain MS Dhoni has reclaimed the number one spot in the ICC ODI rankings following his unbeaten knock of 61 runs in the first ODI against Sri Lanka

Written by Press Trust of India

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New Delhi:

India captain MS Dhoni has reclaimed the number one spot in the ICC ODI rankings following his unbeaten knock of 61 runs in the first ODI against Sri Lanka.

In the latest ICC rankings released on Saturday, Dhoni has replace West Indies captain Chris Gayle.

Meanwhile, South Africa's Jacques Kallis has slipped two places to 14th while Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara has risen one place to joint-16th with Pakistan's Shoaib Malik and Salman Butt.

Further down the batting table there have been a few noticeable movements, including South Africa s AB de Villiers who has shot up 10 places to rejoin the top 10 for the first time since August 2008. De Villiers made a strong impression with the bat during South Africa's 4-1 series win over Australia appearing in four of the five ODIs and averaging 63.66 for the series.

India's Gautam Gambhir has climbed four places to claim the number 20 spot in the rankings. It is the first time the 27-year-old has been in the top-20 since August 2008 when he reached 19th place during a previous tour to Sri Lanka.

It wasn't all bad news for Australia as Michael Hussey has climbed two places to return to the top five in the batsmen's rankings. Hussey scored 78 in the fifth and final ODI in Perth as his side went down by 39 runs.

Jean-Paul Duminy and Hashim Amla have also made inroads on the table. Duminy who has had an exceptional series with the bat, in both Tests and ODIs, has climbed eight places to take 29th position while his team-mate Amla has risen a substantial 34 places after an impressive performance in Australia. Amla's 97 in Perth and series average of 49.75 has pushed the 25-year-old right-handed batsman up to 37th place.

Among the bowlers rankings, there was no change in the top five position. New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori leads the pack followed by Sri Lanka's Nuwan Kulasekara. However, further down the top 20 there has been plenty of movement, most noticeably from South Africa's Johan Botha.

The 26-year-old off-spinner has shot up 13 places in the rankings to take 13th place, the highest of his career so far. Botha, who captained the Proteas to victory over Australia, took a total of eight wickets in the five matches at an average of 23.50 and an impressive economy-rate of exactly four runs per over.

India s Zaheer Khan has climbed two places in the rankings to go joint-ninth, level with England's Andrew Flintoff.

Australia's Mitchell Johnson has slipped out of the top 10 for the first time since July 2008. The 27-year-old fast bowler has dropped seven places to go 14th, one place below Botha.